Trees are a resilient force. Their roots dig deep into the
ground and they can grow back from almost nothing. When they get cut down to
their stump, people don’t expect them to grow back over years. They will grow
back and adjust to their surroundings. They can grow around what is in their
path, like a fence.
The tree in my yard was clearly never expected to grow where
it did. I can see that some time ago, the house that I live in did not plan on
having a fence on its perimeter. Or maybe the tree was even there before my
house. Someone at some moment, decided to cut the tree in the backyard down,
and a fence was built on top of the trunk.
Now the tree is back. Twisting and curling around the
openings of the fence, growing up both sides of it. Instead of one solid, thick
trunk, it has seven thinner bases. Each part of the trunk points in different
direction. It makes me wonder what it used to look like. The base of the trunk
is still wide, but narrows quickly as it runs out of room to expand.
Was it as large and full as one of the trees in the park
down the street? Did it look like the tree out front that was planted in
between the sidewalk and street? The one that was planted when it was small and
meant to be a nice decoration but is now full sized, with roots tearing up the
sidewalk above. I will never actually know.
Isn't it interesting how nature adapts to human intervention in order to persevere? The Gingko tree in my front yard was cut severely by the borough or whoever is in charge of keeping tree branches away from the power lines. I'm always amazed at how resilient trees are when they are cut back like this.
ReplyDeleteYou've got some interesting insights on the endurance of the natural world, in spite of our human efforts. To be cheesy and quote Jeff Goldblum's scientist character from 'Jurassic Park,' "Nature always finds a way," doesn't it? I hope we'll become more grounded in the specifics of place - I'm really curious what kind of tree this is, what the surrounding habitat looks like - as the semester progresses.
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